"Had a lot of injuries" - Stoke City worries outlined over potential Birmingham City transfer | OneFootball

The Potters are still looking to strengthen, and are showing an interest in Blues' Krystian Bielik.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Stoke City have been rooted to the bottom half of the table throughout the 2024/25 season, and despite the arrival of Mark Robins at the bet365 Stadium, their situation continues to have bleak undertones.

The Potters are currently two points ahead of the drop zone, but after losing Tom Cannon at the start of the January transfer window, they have failed to win a Championship game.

Defeat to relegation threatened Portsmouth a week ago was extremely alarming, and improvements need to be made in Staffordshire if the club wants to avoid dropping into the third tier for the first time since 2002.

Therefore, a move for Birmingham City's Krystian Bielik makes sense, and with the 27-year-old falling down the pecking order at centre-back in B9, it may just be possible for Stoke, according to TeamTalk's Fraser Fletcher.

Stoke City urged to land Krystian Bielik transfer deal despite injury worries

Blues are flying at the top of the League One table right now, and they have only added to their incredible team this month.

The addition of Grant Hanley until the end of the season and the scheduled arrival of Phil Neumann this summer will only make it harder for Bielik to get the game time in the heart of defence that he wants at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

The Potters need to add to their squad, and quickly, and for Football League World's Stoke Fan Pundit, Daniel Buxton, a move for the Polish international makes sense, although there will be some worry about his injury record.

Daniel told FLW: "Krystian Bielik is an interesting one really, because obviously he had such a big reputation and when he was at Derby there was a lot of hype around him.

"Derby paid a lot for him and then sold him for a lot less. He now acts as the third-choice centre-back for Birmingham, but that could be a stylistic thing. Maybe he's not suited to the manager and how they want him to play there.

"He is what we've been missing for quite a lot of this season, and he's got experience. We've got quite a young side; we've got an inexperienced side as well. They have not got the Championship know-how and, if anything, that's what you know you can bring from Birmingham."

Daniel continued: "I think he can play a little bit further forward as well. So, he gives us an extra option and better flexibility because we could do with that at the minute.

"We haven't got loads of options in certain areas, so I think it would be good if we can get him back to his best form and if he shows that, then it'd be a fantastic signing.

"He could really boost us up the table and make a massive difference. It's whether those days are still in there, whether we still got that ability in him, whether his body lets him down is probably the main thing as well.

"He's had a lot of injuries, but if he gets injured, he’ll have plenty of people in the treatment room keeping him company anyway."

Krystian Bielik's past injury issues are surely a concern for Stoke City

While Bielik has more than enough quality to feature in the Championship, his history of injuries will cause some fears for Stoke supporters.

His time at Derby started with plenty of promise, but he suffered the first of two ACL injuries in the East Midlands less than six months into his stay, and while he did return looking better than, just over a year later he went through the same injury.

While he has not had a repeat of that since, there will always be a worry surrounding a player who has had the same issue on multiple occasions, and he does have to be managed very carefully at times.

Nevertheless, the leadership and experience that he could bring to Stoke, while also playing in his preferred position, will be a huge draw and the Potters must work to complete a deal before next Monday's deadline.